Is my sister BU to say these photos show little pieces of metal in her food? (Photos attached) (Update with extra photos on page 5)

[Carla786]

My older sister has recently begun reading info on bad things in food like microplastics, EDCs, UPFs etc. Now, I agree with her these things are worrying.

She sent me these photos yesterday evening, saying she thinks they show 'little pieces of metal' in her food, and is now worried about how to avoid metal..

I just see bubbles and the light shining. Is she BU?

Maybe I'm wrong. ... Or not...

She says it looks different from bubbles & light. Really?

I think some info on health food on SM can slide into 'government is putting metal in food' conspiracies, personally, and this is why she is worried. I mean, if it is metal large enough to see, why doesn't it taste hard or crunchy?

Or maybe it is weird?

I didn’t realise people were still eating gruel

Could you encourage her to volunteer in a homeless shelter or soup kitchen and stop navel gazing and fuxating on just herself

They are rowing back a bit on the microplastic thing now too.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jan/13/microplastics-human-body-doubt

😂😂😂😂😂Me too!!!!

Same government that put trackers in covid masks and and mind altering drugs in the tap water?

I do get the worry about microplastics, forever chemicals etc. I think she’d do better to channel energy into things she can control. Not microwaving in plastic containers, wear natural fibres, filter water and drink from glass/ stainless steel.

I assume she's an anxious person anyway? Now the algorithms on facebok/tiktok/wherever are basically being trained by her anxious scrolling to feed her more and more of this.

And they are starting to do serious harm to her mental health - and risking her relationships with people who haven't been caught (ie probably most people in her life ) I think

She has been affected like this works because as a pp said, our food is contaminated, so you can't prove she has nothing to worry about. But the contaminants that the scientists are worried about are 1) invisible and 2) unfortunately almost completely unavoidable.

It might be possible to find out from a reputable source which foods/products have most micro plastics, pesticide residues etc.

But at the moment I really believe her health is in more danger from the bery nasty engagement -driving tactics used by the social medi giants to keep people returning to their platform, and having their emotions stirred up in ways that are then difficult to deal with and sometimes (as I fear potentially with your dsis) harmful.

How we deal with this I don't actually know. And (especially as a parent) it is possible to get these obsessions even without social media (ask me how I know 😬)

But if you are close, can you suggest she takes a brwak from scrolling somehow ?

She could use the time to take a few steps to avoid microplastics (more cooking from scratch at home, replace a plastic chopping board with a wooden one) then as the emotions die down, hopefully she'll feel she's "dealt with it".

And honestly, can she get out among actual human compay more?

Can she go over her food with a magnet? A lot of metals are magnetic, not all though.
Agree with PP saying why would any govt be doing this...what does she say to that?

Exactly. I mean she’s buying pre-made food that is actually sitting in a metal tin. Ridiculous.

The bubbles or frothy appearance of the beans is entirely natural, looks like aquafaba, protein/starch released from the beans. The broccoli, could there be tiny dirt particles, it is a farmed veg after all? As for that grey stuff, that should be avoided as no self-respecting potato should ever end up looking like that! 😂

I think you need to take your sister quite seriously and get her help with her mental health. She's going down quite an extreme thought path and it's not rooted in reality. When people say to consider heavy metals in food, they're not talking about chunks of metal, they're talking about build up of elements like lead and mercury in soil then being absorbed into plants and into the food chain. Your sister is bordering into serious paranoia and really needs proper support before she gets deeper and harder to help

I think I would advise your sister to speak to her HV. I would say that the level of fear (and being convinced she can ‘see’ contaminants in her baby’s food) is worrying and that she may need some counselling. Whilst there awareness of the presence of plastics/metals at microscopic levels in the food chain (and this absolutely needs addressing on a governmental level), it strikes me that the belief that she is actually seeing metal/plastic particles is fed by misinformation and a high level of anxiety - the latter may indicate there is a risk of post natal depression or PND related anxiety and I would strongly encourage you to guide her towards some sort of assessment/discussion with her HV and GP.

Ooh, I missed the mind altering water thing. Sounds fun 😂

It sounds to me like your sister is in need of therapy for something like OCD/anxiety and needs to get off conspiracy theory websites!

I agree strongly with this. Just to clarify though, she doesn't have kids. The food wasn't baby food, it's her food.

Sorry - I was reading quite a few threads earlier when I replied to this, so got the wrong end of the stick… but I really would recommend counselling. ARFIDs and other disordered eating patterns can be triggered this way, especially if there is (health) anxiety or OCD underlying it. I think she needs a big hug and encouraging to have a bit of counselling.

Agree a hug and suggestions of help are a good idea. I'm getting the impression she isn't a great cook, and she could end up seriously restricting her food intake if this carries on, which is worrying.

Happy you agree.
I think it’s great that your sister has someone so loving and supportive in her life — not everybody is so fortunate.
I wish you and your sister the very best.

No metal in them

Oh, no. No no no.
She isn’t Bobby Kennedy in drag, is she?

Because that would answer a multitude of questions.
It would cross Ts and dot Is and run all three bases.

By the way — she hasn’t had a sudden hankering for roadkill, has she?

Please say no.

Thank you for all the replies.. I am quite busy but wanted to update.

I now have a further update to give anyway. She made herself an omelette today and sent photos of the melted butter, which she thinks show metal in it. I couldn't see it myself but maybe I'm wrong...

That doesn't look even remotely like what melted butter looks like. It bears no resemblance to an omelette either.

I think your sister has - erm - issues.

This was the melted butter before making the omelette.

The kitchen seems to have been oddly dark when she took the photo, definitely.

She's said she's going to start an SM account specifically for pictures of perceived 'government-contaminated food' 🤦‍♀️

She’s put on some weird filter or has confused the reflection from her lights with foil.

Has nobody staged an intervention yet? It was abundantly clear she is very unwell from the time you first posted.

Well I’ve never seen melted butter look remotely like that, bad lighting or not.

I initially thought she might have been attention seeking but I think she really does not sound well.